Inside these Padded Walls
by MasterMartin
Summary: Marie wakes up in a mental hospital. Callie's alive, the city is fine, everyone's well...except for her. She is very ill, and not in the physical sense. But she's sane! ...Right? Written as a intro to an AU on a Splatoon Angst Server. Decided it may be good enough to post here.


_There is screaming in the studio. The crew is panicking. Inklings are running around screaming bloody murder in the streets. Things are clattering to the ground. But Marie can't hear any of it. She's gibbering softly to herself, staring at the knife clasped in her hands. One that was supposed to cut cake, now stained with the magenta life liquid of her cousin. Callie is lying on the floor, hand clasped over her sucking chest wound. Over them both, the scoreboard for the final Splatfest; Marie 1, Callie 2. She had won. _  
_And Marie had snapped._

_"Marie..." Callie gasps weakly, ink pouring from her mouth, "Wh-Why..."_

_"I don't...I don't know!" Marie screams, throwing the knife away. She puts pressure on the wound, arching up, "M-Medic! SOMEONE GET A MEDIC!"_

_"You killed me..." Callie chuckled weakly, "Because people liked me more...heh...wonder why..."_

_"Callie please, I didn't mean it!" Marie pleaded, "Don't go into the light, PLEASE! I NEED YOU!"_

_"It's your fault..." Callie whines as her ink slowly leaves her, as with her life, "Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault..."_

_Marie screams and grabs her head as the world around her flakes away into the Aether. Callie continues to taunt her, never dying, her voice becoming a deafening scream of a thousand souls,_ "**YOUR FAULT. YOUR FAULT. YOUR FAULT.****_ YOUR FAULT!_**"

Marie awakens.

Her face is cold, her arms are bound. She groans weakly as she gets up. She sits up, eyes still shut. Her hearts are racing, her head is pounding. She can almost still hear Callie in her head. your fault your fault your fault

"Good morning, Marie!" comes a voice from beyond a muffled wall, "How are you feeling, today?"

"H-Huh?" Marie gibbers, looking up, "...Wh-Where am I...?"

She looks around. She's in a cell. A padded cell, with one wall housing a door with a reinforced glass window. She tries to get up, but her arms refuse to move. She struggles again. White burlap surrounds her, pinning her arms across her torso. A straightjacket. She wears no shoes, but Pilot Goggles festoon her head.

"What the..." she struggles harder, "Where am I?! WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

An errant sigh from the window, "Another setback...same as every morning..." a scribble sound. Marie looks up. A shadow is in the window. Her eyes slowly focus, and she sees...

"...Agent Three?!"

"Agent Three?" another voice asks. This one isn't like the other. It's lighter, sweet like honey, "Who is she referring to, Doctor?"

"Oh, just her pet name for me, is all," Three speaks, "Remember, Marie?" she speaks slower, as if explaining to a simpleton, "Doctor Clarrisa."

"N-No!" Marie yelps, "You're Agent Three. We helped you defeat Octavio, we sang the special song!"

"Oh wow..." the second voice says vividly, "Are her delusions always like this?"

"Most days..." Clarissa sighs, "She's so far gone, poor thing. Broke like fine china from what she did to Callie."

"...CALLIE!" Marie screams, thrashing against her bonds, "CALLIE!" she screams again, before she grows tired and stops. She looks down, her face twisting into agony. She chokes out a sob, "I killed her...oh Cod...I didn't mean to..."

"And there's that bit..." Clarrisa signs something on her clipboard, "Oh hey, I got bingo. Spike owes me a coffee."

"Lucky you..." the other speaks. They walk up to the glass, leaning against it. Marie looks up again. The Inkling smiles, "Hey there, Miss Marie. I'm-"

"FOUR!" Marie yells, "Agent Four! I'm so glad to see you!"

"...Four?" the Inkling looks quite confused, "I...I'm Jenni, miss. Nurse Jenni. I just joined the staff here."

"N-No!" Marie struggles further, "I...y-you...Callie! We saved Callie!"

Jenni says nothing. She looks up to her superior, then down to the patient. She shakes her head sadly.

"She is one of our more...well-known patients," Clarissa notes, "She had a nervous breakdown two years ago...never the same since..." she turned to Marie, "Don't worry, Marie. Your daily visit will be here, soon."

"So...what happened?" Jenni asks.

"Well, two years ago, we had that final Splatfest, remember? Callie vs Marie."

"Oh yes, I was on Team Marie."

"Sorry for your loss..." Clarissa chuckles, "It's a joke, kid. Don't worry about it. I think she just couldn't handle being Player 2 after all this time. They had this big ol' cake. She...well SOMEHOW the knife ended up in-"

"NO STOP PLEASE!" Marie screams, thrashing about further, "I didn't mean to! I miss her! She's gone! GONE!"

"Oh boy, this again..." Clarissa mumbles, "...Oh, she's here. Bring her in!"

A steady clomp of boots as someone walks down the corridor to the window. They're hazy, in shadow, fuzzy. Marie can barely make out the outline, never mind the details. But then she stepped forward. Female. Tall. Clad in a white shirt and pink jacket. Pink beanie. Sunglasses.

"Hey, cuz..." Callie whispers, her voice soft, "How're you feelin'?"

"...C-Callie?" Marie gibbers. It was like her entire world had fallen down around her, already. Again. Always again. But...no! She was dead! Marie killed her! She was sure of it!

"There we go..." Clarissa smiles, turning to Jenni, "Callie always calms her down for the daily dressings. Well...after a while."

"But...b-but...I k-kil...I killed...I took the knife and-"

"You didn't take the knife..." Callie sighs. It sounded like she knew this beat well; "You thumped the plate and the knife flew across the room. Almost hit me in the he...uh, you know. It nearly got me. Oh Marie...I'm so sorry..." she pressed further against the glass, "You didn't do it. You don't deserve this...it's been two years, Marie. It's okay. I'm still here."

"I...I-I..." Marie ran out of fight. She slumps to the floor, curling into a ball as best she could. She sobs. Noisily. Gracelessly. Pathetically.

Callie sighs, a tear rolling down her cheek, "I can't stand this...when will she be ready for physical contact?"

"Half an hour, as always, Miss Ida," Clarissa nods, "Please wait in the cafeteria until we administer her drugs for the day. Coffee's on the house, as always."

"And, uh, congrats on your new album with Marina!" Jenni smiles as Callie waved her goodbyes and waltzed gracefully out of the corridor. Jenni turns back to the Doctor, "...Wow! Callie Ida, in OUR hospital. She talked to me!"

"Star struck?" Clarissa asks, to which Jenni nods, "Heh. You get used to it. Alright. Time to give Marie her morning drugs. You might wanna...watch from the window. This takes some practice."

The door creaks open, and Marie looks up like a hungry animal. Clarissa is in the doorway, syringe of yellow liquid in her hands. She almost has the air of a matador, glancing over to the ex-idol with a suave grin. Marie almost barks and breaks out into a crawling sprint towards the Doctor, thrusting her bound body into her. Clarissa catches her and locks her in place.

"CALLIE!" Marie screams, "I NEED TO SEE CALLIE! YOU'RE ALL FAKE. SHE'S FAKE! OH COD SOMEONE WAKE ME FROM THIS-NNGH"

She stops. The syringe slips into her neck and the liquid is pushed in. Marie is dropped to the floor and she struggles as she feels the compound course through her. She pants as she feels...cold. Numb. Like parts of her are shutting down. She gasps and groans as she slowly loses conscious thought...and then, nothing. She sits there, zoned out, borderline brain-dead, moaning deliriously as she watches the pretty colours fly past her vision.

"Holy squid..." Jenni gasps, "What is that?"

"Octavium," Clarissa notes, "His finest work. She'll be ready to talk in half an hour. She always is..." she shuts and locks the door, then places an arm around Jenni, "Okay, apprentice, let's get you down the office. Let me show you the ropes. Welcome to the St Anemone Mental Institution."


End file.
